India is set to become the fourth nation to land on the moon

Following previous ‘sightseeing’ travels by the US, Russia, and China, India has announced its readiness to travel to the moon.

After earlier plans for an April lift-off were scrapped, India announced Thursday on Twitter that its Chandrayaan-2 mission to the moon will launch between July 9-16, 2019.

In the post, Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) said:

“We are ready for one of the most exciting missions. Launch window between July 9-16 & likely Moon-landing on Sept 6, 2019.”

If the South Asian country succeeds, they will become the fourth country in the world that traveled to the moon. Currently, only the US, Russia, and China have been to the moon. Israel attempted that ‘sightseeing’ travel to the moon earlier this year, but failed.

This is India’s first mission to the moon’s surface and they are planning to land near its south pole, a currently unexplored territory. All previous lunar crafts have landed near the equator, so this is the first time one will land near the south pole.

The moon travel plan is the Indian Space Research Organization’s (ISRO) second lunar probe and the first one destined to land on the moon.

The country’s first mission, Chandrayaan-1 was launched in 2008 but terminated a year later after scientists lost contact with the unmanned orbiting spacecraft.

We are ready for one of the most exciting missions, #Chandrayaan2. Launch window between July 9-16 & likely Moon-landing on Sept 6, 2019. #GSLVMKIII will carry 3 modules of this #lunarmission – Orbiter, Lander (Vikram), Rover (Pragyan).